Summary
- Patrick Stewart has portrayed two iconic heroes, Jean-Luc Picard and Professor X, and both characters have complex timelines and varying deaths and rebirths.
- In Star Trek, Jean-Luc Picard dies of apparent Irumodic Syndrome but is resurrected in a synthetic android body, while Professor X dies multiple times in different timelines.
- It is uncertain if Patrick Stewart will reprise his roles as Picard or Xavier, but he is open to the possibility, while the X-Men franchise is expected to be rebooted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Patrick Stewart plays two iconic heroes, Star Trek's Admiral Jean-Luc Picard and X-Men's Professor X, but which one of them lives longer? The answer is complicated. Stewart began playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which premiered in 1987. Stewart became as a household name as Picard after 7 seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and 4 TNG movies. Sir Patrick then reprised Jean-Luc almost 20 years later for 3 seasons of Star Trek: Picard.
In between 1998's Star Trek: Insurrection and 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis, Patrick Stewart joined Fox's X-Men movie as Professor Charles Xavier. X-Men became Stewart's second franchise after his run in the Star Trek: The Next Generation movies ended. Stewart reprised Professor X in 2003's X2: X-Men United, 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past, and 2017's Logan, along with a cameo in the end-credits scenes of 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine and 2013's The Wolverine. Stewart returned as an alternate reality Professor X in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
How Old Is Star Trek’s Jean-Luc Picard Vs. X-Men’s Professor X
Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard and Professor X are of comparable ages, but their longevity is a bit convoluted by each character's deaths and rebirths. In Star Trek's future timeline, Jean-Luc Picard was born in 2305 in La Barre, France. Picard becomes Captain of the USS Enterprise-D and E spanning from 2364 to 2385 before he is promoted to Admiral and subsequently retires from Starfleet. At the end of Star Trek: Picard season 1, Jean-Luc dies of apparent Irumodic Syndrome (later revealed to be organic Borg DNA) before he is resurrected in a synthetic android body. Picard is 94 years old when he dies in 2399, and by the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3, set in 2402, Jean-Luc is 97 years old with no end in sight.
Professor X's life (and deaths) in the X-Men movie saga are more complicated than Picard's. Charles Xavier was born in 1932, and he officially opened the Xavier School for Gifted Youngers in 1965. In X-Men: The Last Stand, set in 2006, Professor X was murdered by Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) when he was 74 years old. Improbably, Xavier was somehow resurrected, and a new X-Men movie timeline was created by X-Men: Days of Future Past. However, in Logan, which is set in yet another X-Men timeline, 97-year-old Charles Xavier is murdered by X-24 (Hugh Jackman) in 2029. Another alternate reality Professor X appears in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and he is murdered by the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) in 2025 when Xavier is 93 years old.
Will Patrick Stewart Play Picard Or Professor X Again?
Whether it's in Star Trek's 25th century or in one of the X-Men's different realities in Marvel Studio's Multiverse, there's no telling how long Jean-Luc Picard or Professor X will ultimately live. Both of Patrick Stewart's signature characters perform their acts of heroism well into their 90s. The question is whether Patrick Stewart will play either Admiral Picard or Charles Xavier again. The legendary actor never says never, and Stewart hopes to play Jean-Luc Picard one more time, possibly in a Star Trek: Picard movie he advocates for or perhaps in Star Trek: Picard season 3's proposed spinoff, Star Trek: Legacy, if it happens.
Meanwhile, the X-Men are ramping up to be rebooted and integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In all likelihood, Marvel Studios will cast a new actor to play Professor X, just as James McAvoy played the younger version of Patrick Stewart's Xavier in X-Men: First Class, Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix (as well as his cameo in Deadpool 2). Patrick Stewart himself is 83, and he has been playing the older Jean-Luc Picard and Professor X for years. It's likely that Stewart would happily keep playing Picard and Xavier for as long as the Star Trek and X-Men franchises will let him.